Australian ambassador to return to Kyiv at critical point in Russia’s war on Ukraine
Australia’s ambassador will return to Kyiv next month, almost three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted the embassy’s evacuation.
The announcement by Foreign Minister Penny Wong on her first visit to Ukraine since the unprovoked assault, followed repeated calls from Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to relocate Canberra’s diplomatic representatives from Poland.
The visit and reopening came at what Wong called “such an important time for your country and for the future of your people”, amid huge uncertainty about what impact US President-elect Donald Trump will have on the war.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, right, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong talk before a flower laying ceremony at the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
She said ambassador Paul Lehmann, who was in Kyiv for the visit, would return to the Ukrainian capital next month ahead of the embassy returning to normal operations “in the coming months”.
Wong again condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unprovoked, unjustified and immoral invasion” and called him a “coward” for using Russia’s veto as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to block international condemnation.
“He has now sunk to new lows in inviting North Korea to cooperate to try and win this war,” she said on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).
“It is a reminder that our security as between the Euro Atlantic and the Indo Pacific are interconnected.
“Australia stands with Ukraine, and we want you to end this war on your own terms. We want Ukrainians to live in peace, to be able to rebuild their lives and their homeland.”
Australia’s embassy staff were first told to evacuate Kyiv for Lviv in early 2022, as concerns about Russia’s invasion plans escalated. They later moved to Warsaw as the situation intensified.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong attends the laying ceremony at the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Asked whether the delay in reopening the embassy, months after the majority of western allies had done so, had damaged the countries’ relationship, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it had not.
“No, firstly we deeply appreciate the embassy reopening,” he said.
“It’s an important factor in deepening the bilateral relationship as the ambassador can get information firsthand, and more direct communication.
“Also it’s a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Australian people understand the hardships suffered by the Ukrainian people and we welcome deeper bilateral relations.”
Lehmann said he was “delighted” to be able to return to Ukraine and called out Canadian diplomats for their “instrumental” work in helping the Australian embassy move towards reopening.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriiy Sybiha, right, and Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong talk near displayed damaged Russian tanks. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Wong also announced Australia would give $66 million to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development to help Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery and another $10 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.
“We are unwavering in our support for the people of Ukraine,” the foreign minister said.
“Australia stands with you, and we hope that I can return here and see a peaceful, stable Ukraine that has achieved an end to this war on your own terms.”
The situation on the ground in Ukraine remains complicated as both sides wrestle for a battlefield advantage to give them leverage in any negotiations to end the nearly three-year war.
Zelenskyy, who met with Trump in Paris earlier this month, and other Ukrainian officials have been making a concerted effort to get Trump to maintain support for Ukraine.
But the president-elect has forcefully criticised US Democrats’ efforts to push every last dollar already designated for Ukraine out the door to help repel Russia’s invasion before he takes office on January 20.
He called the decision made by Biden last month to allow Ukrainian forces to use American long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory “stupid” and suggested he might reverse it, while expressing anger his incoming administration was not consulted.
On Monday, Trump reiterated his call for both Zelenskyy and Putin to negotiate an end to the war, calling the death and despair caused by the conflict “carnage”.
But he also appeared to acknowledge that finding an immediate endgame to the war – something he previously said he could get done within 24 hours of taking office – could be difficult.
